Who Knew?
by Flightless Bird
Summary: When Naruto woke up on his birthday he could feel something big was about to happen, he just never expected it to be like this. WARNINGS: AU, Character Death, mild OOC


Title: Who Knew?

Summary: When Naruto woke up on his birthday he could feel something big was about to happen, he just never expected it to be like this. WARNINGS: AU, Character Death, mild OOC

Blue eyes opened slowly, blinking as light flowed in through the blankets that were tacked over the window. Uzumaki Naruto sat up in bed and yawned. Today was October 10, his birthday. Smiling his famous foxy grin he got off of his small futon. He felt excited about today, even though no one, like always, would know it was his birthday. Today he felt like something was going to happen, something big. He never told anyone about his birthday because it would draw attention to himself, unwanted attention. He didn't want his friends to know how he lived.

He was an orphan and lived in a small, dirty, beat-up apartment that he got for cheap because no one else wanted it. It was close to the high school so he didn't mind. He wasn't even legally supposed to have it, he was just a freshmen in high school after all. Somehow he had managed to convince the landlady rent to his anyway. It might have his charming personality, but more like it was because she was to drunk to give a damn. He dressed in a clean white shirt with a red swirl on top of his stomach, right above his strange birthmark. Adding black pants he washed his face, grabbed his books and ran out the beat up door.

After running down the streets of Konoha, he made it to a crosswalk where Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke were walking and talking. Yelling out for them to wait he dashed up to them. Sakura commented on his tardiness and Naruto shrugged it off. His lateness and apthy earned him a "dobe" from his bestfriend, Sasuke.

They talked about how school was so far, each excited for the upcoming long weekend. When they went inside the school they met up with their friends, Hyuga Neji, Rock Lee, and Ama TenTen. The group soon spilt two. Sakura, TenTen, and Lee went right down the main hallway towards the stairs to the math hallway. While Neji, Sasuke and Naruto walked down to the gym.

"My uncle says that during the break we are going to go on a cruise," Neji said, they had been discussing about what they were going to do during their fall break.

"My mother is taking me and my brother to do Paris." Sasuke said with a wide smile. Neji rolled his eyes and turned to Naruto.

"What about you Naruto?"

"You know me, I never go anywhere, naw, I am staying in Konoha. I might go hiking in the mountains again though," The other two exchanged guilty looks, they to knew that Naruto never did anything but eat ramen and go hiking on weekends and breaks.

"Well Paris isn't going to be that great, most of the time I'll be stuck in a plain with Itachi." Sasuke said sorry for his previous bragging.

"Yeah, and Hanabi always get seasick and trust me nothing ruins a vacation like a sick Hanabi." Neji said looking as sheepish as Sasuke. Naruto just nodded, he had gotten over being jealous of his rich friends a long time ago.

Entering the locker room, the three went to their lockers that were all on the same wall. Neji and Sasuke quickly got changed in the restroom stalls, but Naruto seemed to be having problems with his locker combination.

"Having problems dobe?" Sasuke smirked,

"No teme," Naruto snapped, finally his locker combination was right, and with a small "click" the lock came open.

"Finally." Sasuke said peevishly and Naruto stuck his tounge out at his friend. Neji turned to look at the door.

"What is it Neji?" Sasuke asked

"Nothing Sasuke," Neji waved his friend off, but he could have sworn he heard gun shots. Suddenly the door burst open to reveal a man holding a gun in shaking hands. He face was covered with a black mask. There was the sound of pelts hitting the floor and both Sasuke and Neji fell to the floor. Sasuke hissed in pain and Neji growled, blood sprang from the bullet wounds. Fortunately or unfortunately talking with Lee had made the friends late and they were the only ones in the locker room.

Naruto turned around and saw his friends shot, the blood staining their clean gym uniforms. It was then that he did something brave; brave and stupid, very stupid. He had lost two precious people before, and there on his parents graves his had sworn never to let it happen again. Even if it cost of him his own life.

Running towards the gun-man Naruto howled, his arm thrown back into a punch. The gun-man was in shock for a moment before becoming reacquainted with his senses. He had not expected the blond boy with strange scars on his face to run at him. Gathering himself he began to shot. Nine bullets later the man stopped shooting, an eerie silence fell over the locker room. Everyone in the room started at the boy as he fell, his blue eyes becoming dead, empty, and alone.

The gun man, hearing shouts, turned and ran out the door leaving the wounded Hyuga and Uchiha, and the dieing Uzumaki to join his fleeing comrades as the police arrived. Pulling themselves over to the blond Sasuke and Neji shook the boy,

"Naruto?" Sasuke whispered, there was a small cough in response, "Stay with us!" Sasuke screamed, shaking the boy as if to wake him up. Moving Sasuke's hands, Neji carefully turned the boy over, and gasped in horror and disgust. Nine bullet holes littered the boy's chest.

"You idiot, you're not superman, you can't dodge a speeding bullet." Naruto let out a weak cough

"I'm sorry, I had to do some thing." Coughing riddled his speak and seemed to take the last of his enegry. The Uzumaki grimaced and took one final rattling breath.

"Naruto, NARUTO!!!" Neji screamed, Sasuke shook the dead corpse.

"No," Sasuke whimpered. Naruto couldn't be dead. He was Naruto, stupid bubbly Naruto. Who would be there for him to call dobe? Who would snap a cocky teme in return?

The rest of the day was a blur to the two boys who had been Konoha High's Locker Room. Everyone in the school had know Naruto, he had the goal to be friends with everyone after all. Even some of the most distant students could claim to have spoken with Naruto. Sakura had burst into tears at the news of her friend's death and no amount of comforting could bring her to stop sobbing.

Four had died, Asuma-sensei, Sarutobi-sensei, a senior named Hayate Gekko and, of course, Naruto. Others had been shot at, but medics had dubbed the emotional damage more threatening the physical. The shooters obviously had no training with guns, seeing as the four dead had been arm's length from their murders.

AN of doom!: My friend's (Evil By Definition) older sister (The Lady Morana) aka my firend, is responable for the betaing of the story CAUSE SHE ROCKS. Yea, so I oringally the murder was going to Sasori, I don't know why but I told Morana that and she said "Yea! I like that, I mean he was ventriloquist, and got tried of people making fun of his for sticking his hand up puppet's asses and making them to talk, I mean whose to blame him!?" We went on for hours like this so thanks to all who acctually read this story


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